New Geddy Lee bass - yeah baby!

Well after all the discussion on another thread about the Geddy Lee Signature Jazz bass and reading tons of positive reviews I decided to search out one of these. One of the local shops just got one in so I figured that I'd go and spend a bit of time yesterday with it. I wasn't going to buy it but just couldn't pass it up. I won't bore anyone with photos as we've all seen this bass before.

This bass is pretty much perfect. No dead spots, fretwork is pretty meticulous, although there is a bit of finish on the frets, the neck pocket is tight and the weight appears to be around 7 pounds..schweet!

I've found the electronics to be very quiet so no issues with shielding for me to mess with. The tuners do seem a bit on the tinny side so maybe those might get changed out. I probably won't mess with the pickups either.

I will change out the strings pretty soon and see what I can do about the relief and general setup. I futzed with lowering the strings a little and found that they were about as low as it could go without any buzz in the upper registers.

All in all a very nice bass for a killer price. Thumbs up to Fender Japan on this one.

I love mine. I was thinking of selling it but I think I'm gonna hold on to it.

...Although there is a bit of finish on the frets...

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I'm suprised to hear that. The one I have, the frets are clean. No finish on it.

...the neck pocket is tight...

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This is the second Geddy Lee bass I've owned. The first one I owned needed a neck adjustment when I brought it home. I took okk the neck & a peice of finish came off the body on the neck pocket!!!! OUCH!!!!! So when I bought the second one, I did this...
<img src="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=968986" width=600>
...I routed a Truss Rod Access so I'll never have to take the off neck AGAIN!!!!

The tuners do seem a bit on the tinny side so maybe those might get changed out.

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I was planning to chance the tuning machines on mine cause they seem a bit cheap. Not as good as Schaller's or HipShots but I've never had a problem with the bass staying in tune, so I never changed them.

I've found the electronics to be very quiet so no issues with shielding for me to mess with........I probably won't mess with the pickups either.

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EDIT:I've found the bass to be very quiet at rehearsals but I gigged with it twice & let me tell you, I'll be shielding the bass as soon as I get a chance. ":END EDIT The only reason I changed the p/u's in mine was cause I bought a set of BassLine Hot for Jazz for $40 from a TB'er. It didn't make a huge difference but I like the BAsslines better. I ended up selling the Fender p/u's on eBay for $81.

Hey Nino, the first GL I bought (and returned) had a TON of laquer on the frets. The second one was clean as a whistle, and a much better instrument.

SICK SICK bass. I shielded the cavity...here is a pic:

This bass when it came with it's standard electronics was quieter than my FMT which has the noiseless pickups. Go figure. I think it is a tad quieter now...

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Very nice shielding job. Can I send my GL to you for one of those???

The finish on the frets is pretty minimal. All in the upper registers and just at the joint between the neck and the fret. Not really any big deal to me and considering the price of the bass. The rest of the bass is spectacular.

Oh, I just weighed the bass and it's a 9 pounder. But it sure feels lighter than that.

I finally got to plug it into a real amp and the bass sounds really quite nice. A very unusual growl that is different from my other two Jazz basses.

Thanks for the rundown on the trussrod tweaks. I'm an old hand at the Fender trussrods so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. ( I have a few oldies )

I'll also go ahead and shield it based on Nino's and your recommendation. It's not brain surgery so I should be able to handle it.

I was thinking that I should change out the strings right away but I'm finding that the strings on mine through the F-1X/Bergantino rig sounds pretty darn good. I might just keep them on until they go dead or change tone.